FARMERS MARKET CONSIDERS LOCATIONS

The Chester Farmers Market is considering new sites for the 2003 season, including the Main Street site in Deep River where the Deep River Inn once stood.

Laura Miezejeski, a Deep River resident who recently assumed the role of market manager from Chester residents Nancy Freeborn and Laurence Lavagne, said the seasonal market is seeking an alternative from the town parking lot on Maple Street where it has operated for the past four seasons.

"Whether it's Chester, Deep River, or whatever, we just need a more visible spot," she said.

Miezejeski recently wrote Deep River First Selectman Richard Smith, suggesting the Main Street lot where the inn had stood would "be an asset" to both the market and the town. Deep River selectmen agreed Tuesday to discuss the idea with abutting property owners and downtown merchants.

Market managers asked the Chester Board of Selectmen, both last year and in April, for permission to use a town parking lot on Water Street where a former bank branch has been converted into a seasonal visitors center. The selectmen decided in May that such a move would not be possible until a sidewalk is built connecting the Water Street parcel to Main Street.

The discussion of the market request last spring also brought to the surface continuing complaints from some merchants in Chester's downtown village that the seasonal market generates unfair competition to year-round businesses.

Chester First Selectman Martin Heft said Wednesday the Water Street lot is one of three potential alternative sites for the market in Chester. He said other possible sites that would provide more space and visibility than the existing site are the parking lot of St. Joseph's Church on Route 154, and the Chester Fairgrounds located farther north off Route 154.

"Obviously I would hate to see them leave Chester," Heft said. "We've always tried to work with them."

Heft said either the church parking lot or the fairgrounds would require review by the planning and zoning commission, but no formal approval from the board of selectmen.

Miezejeski said she and other supporters of the market would spend the fall and winter months "exploring the possibilities," before making a decision on the new location early next year. "There is plenty of time," she said. "This is still in the early stages."

Miezejeski said the market has been doing well at the Maple Street lot this season, despite the belief of organizers that it would be even more successful in a more visible location. "There are still plenty of people who don't know where we are," she said.

The market is run each Saturday from Memorial Day weekend through mid-October from 8:30 a.m. to noon. Vendors, who have averaged about a dozen this season, sell produce; bread and other baked goods; perennials and cut flowers; soaps; and fresh eggs, beef, and pork.